Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Trading Down 0.4%

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s share price traded down 0.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $49.99 and last traded at $50.22. 1,300,340 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 10,659,098 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.43.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.10.

Altria Group Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average is $46.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. Analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.75%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 2.0% in the second quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Conning Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 9,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the first quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 14,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $623,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% during the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 14,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $668,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WMG Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.1% in the second quarter. WMG Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand.